11 of 30 Suburban Races in November Decided at Filing Deadline

By Bill Dries

Of the 30 elected positions on the Nov. 6 ballot in five suburban towns and cities in Shelby County, 11 were decided at the Thursday, Aug. 16, deadline for candidates to file their qualifying petitions.

The municipal races in Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland and Millington are for seats on boards of alderman, city commission and school boards as well as contested elections for mayor in Bartlett, Germantown and Lakeland.

Here is what the ballot looked like in each of the towns and cities at the filing deadline:

Bartlett: Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald, seeking his fifth term as mayor, faces challenger John Lackey on the November ballot.

The ballot in five municipal elections in the suburbs are almost complete with Thursday’s filing deadline for candidates. (Daily News File/Houston Cofield)

The two school board races on the ballot were decided at the Thursday deadline – Position 2 incumbent Erin Elliott Berry and Position 3 incumbent Bryan Woodruff win re-election by running unopposed on the November ballot.

Incumbent Position 2 alderman Emily Elliott faces a challenge from Mitch Arnold. Incumbent aldermen W.C. “Bubba” Pleasant and David Parsons were effectively re-elected at the filing deadline since they were unopposed.

Collierville: Alderman Billy Patton and was effectively re-elected at the deadline with no opposition.

Alderman Tom Allen is being challenged by Gregory D. Cotton, an attorney.

Collierville School Board member Wanda Chism has no opposition and returns for another four-year term.

Two contenders had filed at the deadline for the open Position 4 school board seat being vacated by Cathy Messerly. The contenders are Frank Warren, a Realtor, and Eelco Van Wijk who works at FedEx.

Germantown: All five positions on the ballot in the Germantown municipal elections are contested.

Incumbent Mayor Mike Palazzolo is being challenged by outgoing alderman John Barzizza in what is already an ongoing political tug-of-war about the pursuit of economic development in Germantown and the impact of that development on the city’s image as a bedroom community.

Retired U.S. Marshal Scott Sanders and Brian D. White, owner of a financial management company, are running for Barzizza’s seat as alderman.

School board chairwoman Betsy Landers is being challenged for re-election by Brian Curry, a technical operations adviser at FedEx.

And Robyn Rey Rudisill, a teacher, faces Angela Griffith for the Position 4 school board seat currently held by Lisa Parker, who is not seeking re-election.

Lakeland: Incumbent Mayor Wyatt Bunker is being challenged by Michael Cunningham, a projects planner at FedEx. The race, like the Germantown mayor’s race, is also about suburban economic development, in this case the building of a new middle school to go with Lakeland’s existing elementary school. The city created its own school system and already has plans for a high school.

Lakeland voters fill two positions on the city commission and three on the school board by voting multiple times from a single list of contenders in each race.

Incumbent commissioner Clark Plunk is among the five contenders in the commission race. Alderman Matt Wright is not seeking a full term on the commission, which is the second position to be decided by voters this year. The other four contenders are Michele Dial, an assistant principal at Bartlett High School; Jeremy Clayton Burnett, an assistant professor at Southwest Tennessee Community College; Michael Green, a Memphis firefighter; and Richard A. Gonzales Jr.

Millington: Incumbent alderman Frankie Dakin’s decision not to seek re-election was the only last-minute development on the November ballots. He had pulled a qualifying petition in May. That leaves political consultant Jon Crisp as the only contender in the race for Position 3. Likewise, incumbent aldermen Bethany K. Huffman, Al Bell and Larry Dagen each drew no opposition to effectively win re-election at Thursday’s deadline.

Incumbent school board member Cecilia “C.J.” Haley is being challenged by Marion D. Evans.

Incumbent school board member Barbara Halliburton is being challenged by former school board member Donald K. Holsinger.

The fourth school board position on the ballot in Millington found incumbent Cody Childress unopposed.

All of those who filed their petitions by the noon Thursday deadline have a week to withdraw if they wish before the Shelby County Election Commission sets the municipal ballots. The November ballot also features state and federal general elections topped by statewide races for Tennessee governor and U.S. Senate.